Lucky Rabbit
by SullenStriker
Summary: The result of midnight madness. When a cynical striker is down on his luck, will someone be there to bring him back on his feet? [Dub-verse]
1. Part 1

**Author's Note:** I caught sick over the weekend, and I still am as of this typing. Last night (or very early this morning, I guess), I was unable to sleep, and so I wrote down whatever ideas came to mind on my iPhone. The result: CRACKSHIP HELL. I hope you enjoy this, regardless or because of the ship in question.

* * *

Jean-Pierre is walking home from school when he decides to drop by the shopping area. It's a longer route than he usually took, but he's had his eyes on a new pair of shoes for so long, and he has some money saved up, so he might as well buy them now while they're available. Skipping along happily down the sidewalk, humming a silly and catchy tune he heard the other day, he enters and leaves the store, feeling on top of the world.

On the way home, however, something else catches his attention. A short, blue-haired boy, his one eye in a perpetual glare, stops to inspect his surroundings, then enters the dark alleyway across from where JP is standing. He can recognize that grumpy kid anywhere. "Kaiser?"

His curiosity takes over, leading him down the shady-looking alleyway, dominated by thugs, nerds, and other outcasts in society. Though this has not been his first time down this alley, it still sends chills down his spine, especially now that he's alone.

As he progresses, he can hear muffled thuds, followed by foreign swearing (or what he assumes is swearing, judging by the angry tone the voice takes on). Part of him is beginning to regret going down this path, but the part that recognized the boy coaxes him into moving forward. Soon enough, he finds him, surrounded by cardboard boxes.

"Dammit," the boy mutters as he kicks one of the boxes aside. "I'll never be any good at this rate!" JP warily approaches him, but is interrupted before he can utter a word. "Oh, it's you. Come to mock me yet again?"

"What? I never—"

"Forget it. Just leave. Go back to your little rabbit hole with your happy friends and family."

After processing his words, JP says, "No. I want to help."

"I don't need it."

"I don't care. I'm staying."

A long pause, then a sigh. "Alright. If you insist. Help me pick these up."

With their cooperation, the boxes are stacked in short time. The stack itself is taller than the two of them combined-not that either of them have much in the way of height, especially JP. When the other proceeds to pick it up and carry it back and forth, he finally realizes what he's up to. "Oh, you're training!"

"Ja, what else does it look like? You think I pick up heavy boxes for amusement?" As if on cue, a couple of them fall to the ground, causing him to utter some more swears under his breath.

"Oh, you did really good there! This exercise is not very easy at all, so that was an especially good effort."

"I could do better than that. Well, sometimes. That's been the best I could do since... well, forever." He sits on one of the boxes, which bends slightly under his weight.

"But you only just started. You can't give up!"

"Why shouldn't I? Sherwind, Victor, even you have Fighting Spirits. Everyone's always talking about how great you guys are, but what about the rest of us? At least Riccardo and Roma have reasons to be as strong as they are, unlike the rest of you newbies."

JP bites his lower lip. Kaiser certainly has a knack for not mincing words. "You know, for a while, I was right where you are now. Always wondering what's so great about me, how I could contribute to the team. Before I found out about my Spirit, I thought I was already at my peak, that there's nowhere else to go. But then Sam started training me to be a goalie, and... I just got lucky."

"Lucky rabbit indeed." Kaiser's expression has changed into a rare one: sadness. "Lady Luck's never been friendly with me. Maybe she's trying to tell me something, but I'm just too much of a Dumbkoff to notice."

Jean-Pierre is at a complete loss for words. Despite being teammates for so long, he never knew much about Kaiser off the pitch. Not his personal life, nothing. Yet here he is, spilling his innermost thoughts and feelings—which, judging by his discomfort, isn't something he does very often at all. Is there a side to him that perhaps he keeps even from his friends?

Before he notices what he's doing, he rushes over to embrace Kaiser, the two of them falling over to the ground in the process. "You're not an idiot. You're stubborn and rude and even cruel, but you're not stupid. So quit thinking you can't do better because I know you can! You don't need a Fighting Spirit to play football. When you have strength inside and out, that's all you really need."

Kaiser's lips open slightly as if to speak, but says nothing. Instead, he closes his eyes, and—in an odd moment of character—reciprocates. Not tightly, but just enough for JP to notice. The gentle tremor of his heartbeat puts him at ease, and part of him wishes it could last forever.

"Alright, that's enough of that," Kaiser says as he shoves JP aside and gets up. "I'd better get back to training. You should go home before it gets dark."

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine. As a matter of fact, I'm feeling pretty lucky tonight." He smirks, though unlike usual, there appears to be a genuine kindness hiding behind it.

As the taller boy starts stacking the boxes, JP blurts out, "Hey, once you're done here, maybe you can come have dinner at my house. Maybe?"

He sets down the box, as an awkward silence begins to loom over. Then he turns around, a barely visible flush of pink on his cheeks. "Actually, let's head out right now. I haven't had lunch today."


	2. Part 2

**Author's Note:** Hard to believe I wrote another chapter, but here we are. I actually started this shortly after finishing the first one, but I only completed it a few days back. Well, there's a bit more going on here, so I hope you enjoy this entry!

* * *

It's a typically dull day in Raimon Junior High, made absolutely dreary by the gray clouds and pouring rain. Michael would occasionally glance at the window between notes, waiting for the day to end like everybody else. At one point, while writing, he stares down at his wrist, sporting a colorful bracelet with a rabbit charm attached.

"Hey, where'd you get that," a classmate of his asked once.

"Oh, just a gift from a friend," he answered.

"Ooh, I bet it's your _girl_ friend!"

Because of that conversation, he has opted to keep it a secret. They weren't totally wrong, but it didn't make it less annoying.

That day when he visited the Lapins' abode was perhaps the most nerve-wracking moment of his life, after all that their team dealt with. From meeting with his parents to seeing his room for the first time, the entire experience felt like an odd dream. He would have still considered it such if not for the bracelet JP gave him.

Lunch break finally arrives, and he follows after his friends, Adé and Eugene. The three of them chat about mundane stuff, and all seems fine until Adé decides to open his big mouth.

"Hey, Kaiser, I noticed that you and JP have been goin' at it on the pitch. Like, I dunno, you're jealous of 'im or something, like. Is there somethin' on with you two?"

Taken aback, Kaiser blurts out, "We're just friends and nothing more!"

This piques Eugene's interest. "You and Lapin are friends? That's quite the shocking development. Is there something you're not telling us?"

"He was just helping me with block training, nothing important."

A cheeky grin spreads from ear to ear across Adé's face. "Oh, really? Your face tells me there's something more." Whipping out his "claws", he proceeds to tickle at his friend's ribs. "Confess, or face the wrath of the tickle monster!"

The tickling sends Kaiser into a laughing fit that causes the entire room to stare at him. He quickly ends it with a swift punch to the offender's skull. "Alright, so I might have visited his place one time. But those were under very specific circumstances which are unlikely to happen ever again."

Eugene, his dark eyes observing Kaiser's countenance, forms his own cat-like smile as he handles the bracelet-sporting wrist. "Oh? Then how do you explain this?"

"It's just a gift. For good luck, he said."

"Oh." Eugene drops the topic—and his wrist—like a hot potato. "Adé, can you get some water? I think Kaiser's looking a bit pale." He waits for their mutual comrade to exit the vicinity before leaning in close and whispering, "Don't worry, I won't tell anybody about your little crush."

After several more hours, the day is at its end. The rain—which had diminished during lunch break—has returned full force, meaning no football practice for the day. _Great, an afternoon of nothing to do._

A set of tiny footsteps reach his ears, and he looks down. "Bonjour, Kaiser! It's good to see you today." He fumbles through his bag, to no avail. "Oh, no! I forgot my umbrella! Today is not my lucky day."

While JP was searching, Michael pulled out his own umbrella, which at the most convenient time, he decides to open up and hold over him. "You can stay over at my place until it lets up. It's a bit far from yours, but—"

"Ouais, merci!"

They eventually arrive at his place, where the first thing he does is check if his mother's home. When a conveniently-timed call confirms his suspicions, he shows JP to his bedroom. "I know it's not really much, but make yourself at home. And don't touch anything that looks fragile."

Before he can even finish his sentence, JP has already started looking around, and gets his hands on a framed signature. "Wow, you really do have Mark's autograph! We must be like twins!"

"Didn't I say not to touch anything fragile? Anyway, there's not much in the fridge, but I can get you something."

"You don't have to. I'm fine just being with you."

Kaiser's tanned cheeks flush a bright red, which he tries to hide by averting his gaze. Recovering from the initial awkwardness, he settles down and shows Jean-Pierre some of his favorite games and comics, along with his pet snake, Vyper. JP, for the most part, seems to enjoy them, expressing more surprise by his apparent interest in unexpected things.

"I never realized you were so into this stuff," he says while picking up a medieval fantasy novel. The story in question just so happens to be romance-a genre no boy in their age range would ever touch.

Michael scrambles to nab the book, but JP—in a streak of mischief—dodges at the last second, causing him to fumble. Shooting himself back up, he confesses, "Ja, maybe I do happen to read that stuff sometimes. B-but only cus I like the setting! Just don't tell anyone about it."

The little rabbit boy looks perplexed, but smiles right after, making a zipper-mouth gesture as he replies, "My lips are sealed!"

Kaiser's mother finally returns home, and by then, the rain has stopped and the sun has already begun to set. After a brief introduction, she offers JP a chance to stay for dinner, which he accepts. As the three of them help out with making dinner, she strikes up a conversation.

"I hope Michael hasn't been too much trouble."

"Non, not at all! He's been real nice to me!"

"That's good to hear. He can be awfully secretive—I never know what's going on in that boy's head!"

"I can hear you, you know," Michael hisses under his breath.

In her German tongue, she asks, "Michael, how was school today?"

"Same old, same old," he answers aloud, in the same language.

She turns her attention back to JP, switching to English. "See? He _never_ tells me anything! How's school for you, JP?"

"It was great! Me and Arion were..." He proceeds to tell a silly story about an incident that occurred during class, which ignites laughter from Kaiser's mom, but makes Kaiser himself feel empty inside.

Their conversation continues over at the dinner table, between munching on their hard-earned meals. Eventually, the topic shifts to Michael, causing him to look up from his barely-touched food. "Kaiser's been working really hard in football! He and I have been practicing together a lot outside of school, and I can see him improving everyday."

"Oh, is that so? I bet he really enjoys practicing with you. He's usually practicing by himself, so I'm happy he's finally found a footie buddy!"

"Mutti, stop. You're making me sound like some sort of loner."

"Well, it's true. If your friends haven't taken the time to drag you out of the house every week, I would've assumed you had none!"

"What I do is none of your business!"

"I'm your mother, your life is my business! Now, sit down and eat your dinner!"

Kaiser slams his hands on the table and pushes the plate aside. "I don't want any," he mutters as he storms off.

Michael's mother calls out in vain, then sighs, her joyous demeanor diminished. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Maybe I should drive you home."

Looking back at the direction where he left, Jean-Pierre starts for it. "I'll go talk to him." He treks upstairs and goes straight for Kaiser's bedroom. "Kaiser," he calls out as he knocks on the door.

"Go away," a muffled voice shouts back in German.

JP opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Instead, he digs his phone out from his pocket and starts typing.

"If you don't want to talk, you can always text me. You still have my number, non?" He adds a smiley face and presses send.

Not half a moment later, his phone vibrates. One new text. "You're really annoying sometimes, you know that?" _Same old Kaiser_ , JP thinks with a smile.

Unexpectedly, another text pops up. "If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone?"

JP rushes to respond. "Of course not! Not even your mom!"

After sending that text, a heavy silence looms before him, threatening to choke him with its unbearable tension. Just as he is on the verge of giving up, his phone vibrates. Several times. He stops to read each and every one.

"I'm not sure how to say this, but...

Ever since that day, when you saw me in that alleyway...

I've been feeling... weird.

Thinking about you makes my head spin, my heart starts beating like crazy, and my body starts to burn up.

I've read about this stuff in those stupid novels like the one you found, but until now, I thought they were just exaggerating.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...

You might be more than a friend to me."

JP takes his time to gather his own thoughts on the situation. Reading the last text ignites a similar feeling to what Kaiser was talking about. Is this a good feeling or not? Without further hesitation, he types out his response.

"Idiote! Even when you're spilling your guts, you still won't admit it!

But I suppose that's part of your charm.

I've been thinking about you a lot, too. Not just about footie, but just YOU.

You're always so grumpy and rude, even among your friends. I never thought we'd get along outside the pitch.

But that day, I saw a different side of you. You were sad. Insecure. Unusually modest. It's like you were a totally different person!

That got me thinking, there's a lot I don't know about you. And the more I think about it, the more I really want to know you. The real you! All of you!

So please open up a bit... pour moi?"

He sends the last text with one hand while wiping away the tears pouring down with the other. Why is it so painful, being honest? If only he were able to lock up his feelings as well as Kaiser. But then he would still be in pain. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

A long moment later, the bedroom door opens ajar, and Michael's one eye can be seen through the crack. "Did you really mean all that? About wanting to know about me and stuff?"

"Ouais! Every last word!"

"Even the part about me being an idiot?"

"Er, sorry, I don't know what got into myself."

"You didn't have to apologize. I'm actually relieved you said that. I thought you were nothing but sunshine and rainbows like Sherwind." He turns away to laugh. "I guess I really am a Dumbkoff, aren't I?"

Hearing Kaiser's laugh prompts JP into doing the same. "Darn right you are! Sometimes I just wanna punch you cus of how dumb and stubborn you are!"

"Funny, I always thought the same of you," Kaiser retorts. The two share a moment of laughter before changing the subject. "Hey, um, since you're already here, I'm wondering if perhaps you would, uh, like to stay for the night?"

JP stops smiling, looking confused and slightly overwhelmed. "I don't know. This is sort of sudden. Give me a moment, s'il te plait!"

One call home and three parents' approvals later, Jean-Pierre is able to settle down in Michael's house for the night. His mother offers some of her son's old clothes to sleep in, and Kaiser himself has offered to sleep on the floor. The latter has led to an argument that was thankfully short-lived, leading to the two of them sharing a bed. Though having a second person feels awkward at first, they become comfortable enough with each other's presence, and lull off to sleep, with Kaiser's arm wrapped around JP.


	3. Part 3

Author's Note: I started on this chapter a while back, but kept putting it off due to a combination of writer's block and uncertainty towards the characterization. Even now, I'm not sure how I feel about the characters, or if I treated any of them unfairly or not. But at this point, I think it's best if I let the reader decide.

* * *

Time passes as the leaves on the campus trees change colors, then start to fall off. Now the barren branches are covered in snow, and the air—cold as it is—has a romantic warmth to it. Due to the shifts in weather, the football team has been forced to practice within the confines of the stadium. Despite the sudden changes, everyone is happy… all except two.

"Out of my way, shrimp!"

"Like you're any better, Napoleon!"

"At least I'm taller than you!"

"You looking for a fight, punk peu?"

"Watch your mouth, kleine Scheiße!"

"Why don't you head into the bathroom right now and wash yours?"

"Fick dich!"

It's only with a stern scolding from an irritated Riccardo that JP and Michael's bickering finally stop. Once they do, they simply turn face and part ways, pretending as if nothing happened. As the rest of the team disperses, Adé and Eugene stare at where the scene commenced, confounded and concerned by the sight.

"Man, Kaiser's been way ruthless, like. He's even dishing out swears like they're nothing!" Adé looks at his friend, whose dark eyes have a curious glimmer. "Eugene, is there something you're not telling me?"

Eugene snaps out of his trance. "What? Of course not! I'm just as confused as you are!"

Adé slams Eugene against a nearby locker door, an action unexpected from either of them. "Look, I know you like the back of my hand. I can tell you're hiding something. What is it? Tell me!"

The bespectacled redhead tries to keep his resolve, but the look in the Geordie's eyes bear an intense expression he had not seen from him in so long, if ever. Resigned, he adjusts his glasses and responds with a mischievous smirk: "Since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you everything I know."

Out on the pitch, everyone is ordered into their positions, with the captain making absolutely certain that Kaiser and JP are as far from each other as humanly possible. Unfortunately, due to the setup of the player rotation, the two of them are eventually forced to practice together.

As JP sets out, Arion's brows furrow with worry. "I don't understand what's gotten into them lately. Kaiser's always been a bit mean, but now he's just picking on JP all the time. It's not fair!"

Sam, standing next to him, rests a hand on his shoulder. "I understand. But whatever they got going on, I'm sure it will solve itself. Look."

At his last word, Kaiser kicks the ball with all his might, causing it to zip at almost blinding speed towards the goal. But JP stands his ground and takes the blow full-force, his tiny hands acting as a wall between the ball and the goal. The ball, once a blazing meteor, loses its momentum, slowly spinning to a halt in the rabbit boy's grasp. Despite his defeat, however, Kaiser nods with a confident smirk on his face, as if to say, "I'll get you next time."

Once all the players have gone through their rounds, practice ends, and Arion is reunited with his little buddy. "Wow, you were amazing, JP," he exclaims. "You really are getting better. By the time we're in our third year, you'll be the best goalkeeper in the universe!"

Jean-Pierre mutters in agreement. However, he doesn't look so proud of himself. "Hey, Arion, what do you think's gonna happen to the team by then?"

"Huh? By when?"

"By our third year. Sam's going to graduate this year, along with Wanli and Rusty, and soon most of our friends would, too. What do you think will happen then?"

Arion ponders over the question for a second. "Well, we have plenty of friends in and outside Raimon. Maybe they'll want to join!"

Happy as Arion is with his answer, JP finds it unsettling. "Maybe. After all, you're Arion Sherwind—you of all people know how to make football happy." As he says this, he wipes away a rebellious tear he failed to hold back. "Oh, I just remembered. There's something I need to do. I'll see you later!"

JP runs off into the marketplace, where, just outside the noodle shop, stands Michael, gazing at the phone screen. "I thought you were gonna meet up with Sherwind today."

"I told him I had to run an errand, so now I have more time for you!"

"For me," he asks, genuinely bewildered.

"Of course! You didn't think I would ignore your text, did you?" He crosses his arms and pouts. "It's like you don't even trust me."

By this point, Kaiser isn't sure how to comment. "Don't get me wrong: I don't really trust people easily. Not even my closest friends. Opening up is hard for me, so I push others away. And yet, I still cling close to them, because I know I'm weak."

JP's frustration flares right up, this time layered with concern. "But you're not weak. You overcame all sorts of challenges, and even when you lost, you never gave up. And despite what you just said, I think you're a lot more loyal than you think. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here with your friends… or me."

His eyes start to water as he resumes. "I don't know what could have caused you to think otherwise, but… you're one of the strongest people I know! You're always thinking of those you care most about, even if you show it in stupid ways. And when you speak, you never seem scared of what the other person thinks. You speak with such honesty, even I find myself opening up in ways I never imagined." He grasps one of Kaiser's hands with both of his own. "I doubt you believe me when I say it, but I believe in you."

For a long time, neither say a single word. Then suddenly, there is laughter in the air. "JP, you are so cute when you're angry! Well, you're always cute, but when you make that face, I can't resist! And the things you say—ridiculous!" The laughter continues for a moment, befuddling the smaller boy. Once he calms down, Michael sighs, a serene smile on his face. "You probably think I'm crazy, and you're probably right. I do enjoy seeing you suffer, I won't deny that. But don't think I wasn't paying attention. If it will make you feel better, you can insult me as much as you like."

JP blinks, lost for words. After some awkward silence, he finally finds them. "Let's go inside. I'm starving."

They enter the noodle shop, where they order their fill. To pass the time between bites, the two of them would chat about random topics, from books they read to their least favorite school subject. As the topic shifts towards their earlier practice, a thought pops up in Kaiser's head. "Hey, JP? What do you think will happen after I graduate? Can we really keep up with this… whatever you call it? We've kept it a secret for this long, but I doubt that would last much longer. One of us is bound to slip up sooner, and when that happens…" His fists clench as he struggles to find what to say next.

A tiny hand lays upon on one of his fists. "Whatever you're worried about," says Jean-Pierre, his voice soothing as silk, "we can handle it together. If you ever need to say something you're too scared to admit, you can always talk to me." He smiles so warmly, Kaiser's heart begins to melt, forcing him to look away in an attempt to preserve it.

Once he gathers his courage, Kaiser opens his mouth to speaks, but only a shocked gasp comes out. Sitting at a table behind JP are Adé and Eugene, the latter well within his sight. They make eye contact, and he swears he can see a smirk form on the redhead's face. If he isn't with JP, he would have punched that nerd in the face by now.

"What're you lookin' at, Eu… Oh, hey, Kai!, Hey, JP!" Adé waves at him, grinning stupidly. "You same cus of the sale they're havin' today, didn't you? Buy two, get one free?" Looking at their faces causes his grin to grow wider. "Are you two on a date?"

Kaiser is ready to respond, when suddenly a crowd of noise interrupts him. He turns around and finds himself facing more than half of the team, lead by Arion. "Oh, there you are, JP," he greets his friend as he rushes over to the table. However, his initial excitement turns to confusion, as his eyes shift back and forth between JP and Kaiser. "You two are… friends?" Arion's outburst catches the attention of the other teammates.

Overwhelmed by all the stares, JP bursts out, "No, he's just helping me with studying! He offered to help out the other day, so we set up a date and oh my look at the time I better be going home, bye!"

As JP runs out of the shop, the rest of the team watches, then shifts their gaze to the second-shortest. "I-I just remembered I have to feed my homework—I mean, do my snake! Tschüss!" Without so much as a goodbye, Kaiser runs out after.

By the time he manages to catch up with the rabbit boy, the two of them are standing atop the snow-covered slope before the riverside pitch, within perfect view of the glittering waters below. Michael glances back, hoping that nobody took the time to tail them before affirming it. "Well, that was just terrible luck for both of us. We barely scraped by that one!" He lets out a chuckle, but stops himself when he hears sobbing. "JP?"

Trying in vain to hold back tears, JP chokes out, "Of all the people to find out, why did it have to be him?"

"Hmm? You mean Arion? I thought you would have told him by now. Not about us dating, but us hanging out, at least. I mean, it's embarrassing, sure, but it's not like we've k-kissed or anything."

"It's not just that! It's…" Hanging his head down in shame, he wipes the tears away with his uniform sleeve and continues. "Shortly before bumping into you that one day, I made a confession to Arion. I told him in the most obvious manner possible, but none of it got through to his thick skull! Since then, I felt this rift between the two of us, one that I worried could ruin our friendship. Then I saw you, working all alone, and I… I felt something different. I wasn't sure what it was at the time, but one thing led to another, and…"

His cheeks flush a bright pink as he resumes. "I'm so happy we could be together, but some part of me still can't get over Arion. And I was afraid if you found out, you would think I was taking pity on you, so I kept it to myself. I kept trying to deny those feelings, but then he saw us together, and it all came flooding back." A hiccup and more sobbing, timed well with his words. "You probably think I'm a big coward or cheat now, don't you? Just say it and get it over with!"

It takes a moment for Kaiser to take it all in. Then: "I don't think you're wrong. I do feel a bit betrayed, knowing that. But then again, I was on the same boat at your age. I've always been a lackey, with no will or ambitions of my own. But then I met someone who gave me something to work towards. Eventually, those feelings turned into something more—or so I thought. As it turned out, he wanted nothing to do with me.

"I felt hurt at first, but after some thinking, I realized I never was in love with him, but my own ideal vision of him. Knowing that made me feel less guilty. But since then, I began to wonder what love was. At some point or another, I wondered if I was in love with my friends or not—I might have, but I never acted on it. Next thing I knew, I was reading romance books, hoping to understand it better. Nothing really clicked until I met you. Right then, I realized love isn't something I could force; if that was possible, I would have confessed to Adé or Eugene ages ago. Even now, I still wonder what it was that drew me to you, but I'm glad that you did, cus I can finally let go."

He scratches his head, wondering where he is going with this. "As embarrassing as that run-in was, maybe it's a sign that you need to 'fess up and get the pain over with, y'know?"

JP has been thinking up a response when Arion runs up to them, followed by Adé and Eugene. "There you are," Arion yells out, stopping in his tracks just before the two lovers. "JP? Kaiser didn't say anything mean to you, did he?"

"Don't blame me, kid was crying long before I saw him," Kaiser mutters under his breath.

"JP, if I did something wrong, you can always tell me! We're friends, aren't we?"

Biting his lip, he wipes away his tears and glares at Arion. After all that happened, he was the last person Jean-Pierre wanted to see, yet here he is. "I tried to tell you time and again, but you were too dense to understand it the first time! What makes you think I can trust you with anything?"

"Huh? B-but I—"

Kaiser steps in front of Arion, his one eye gazing sternly into his soul. "Hey, Sherwind, have you ever been in love? Have you ever loved someone the same way you love football?"

"Love? I-I've heard of it, but—"

"Let me put it another way: have you ever looked at someone you know and wanted to do this?" Suddenly, Kaiser grabs hold of Arion by the collar and pulls him in, their lips locked in a kiss. Though the gesture is brief, it sends everyone present into shock—including Sherwind, unable to speak after his experience. "If you want to gain Jean's trust again, get your head out of your Arsch and listen to him for once!"

Once he's over his initial shock, Arion says, "I'm sorry. I thought I was being a good friend, but I was so focused on the team and everything, I completely ignored how you must've felt. I think I need to think about this. See you, I guess." He shuffles off, numb to the eyes upon him as he disappears from their sight.

Adé and Eugene, who until now had been silently observing from afar, close in on the two. "Wow, that was messed up, like, even by your standards, Kai," Adé bursts out. "Say, you think you can kiss us, too? You seem like a real good kisser, like."

Kaiser grumbles an insult in German, then replies, "That was an exception; I had to do something to get the message across! From now on, all my kisses are reserved for Jean and Jean alone!"

Eugene, the more collected one of the duo, steps forward. "What Adé means to say is he wants to apologize for what he said back at the shop. He never intended to hurt either of you."

"It's alright. It's his usual brand of stupidity, nothing out of place."

"Dude, that's harsh," Adé whines.

"Good. I'll keep doing it 'til you get it through your thick skull." A smirk creeps up on his face.

"Insults aside, I should apologize as well. I told Adé everything I knew. If anyone deserves your anger, it's me."

A pause, then: "Eh, I guess it was bound to happen eventually. We weren't exactly subtle about trying to hide it—the way we acted at school, someone would've been suspicious and looked into it. Besides, you're an easy target, insulting you wouldn't be very satisfying."

"I see… Well, there's still something I'm curious about: when did you two become… you know?"

Sharing glances and smiles, the two lovebirds both answer, "That's none of your business!"


	4. Part 4

A year had passed, seemingly without a trace. School events and holidays came and went, and before either of them knew it, the winter season is upon them. With Christmas and a ten-day break just around the corner, kids all across Japan are eagerly planning their free time, and Raimon students are no exception.

In the time since they started training and going out together, Kaiser had grown sturdier and even a bit taller. However, doing more workouts requires more stamina, which requires more food, and with JP's astounding eating habits, some weight gain was inevitable. Despite having rock-hard abdominal muscles from daily crunches, few are willing to look past the soft layer of fat padding it—least of all his best friends, who like to tease him about it every chance they get.

"I'm sorry, Kai," Adé says with a sheepish grin, rubbing the bump on the head Kaiser gave him just seconds ago, "but I still can't get over how _fat_ you've gotten."

Eugene slaps Adé in the back of his head, further adding to his suffering. "What he means is that he finds all these changes a bit hard to deal with. He's still trying to wrap his head around you dating JP. Besides, I think 'husky' is a better description." He pinches Kaiser's cheek, smiling devilishly while barely avoiding a hit from him.

"Speaking of changes," Adé cuts in, warily eying the dark eyeshadow and black lipstick on Eugene, "when did you start wearing makeup? I get people calling you girly, but isn't this takin' it a bit far? And why black? Ain't that a little...?" His brown eyes widen, as if the lights turned on upstairs. "Oh, I get it. You're goin' on a date with that kid from the cultural festival, aren't... you...?" His words trail off, as the bespectacled redhead shoots him a gaze—a gaze which both of his friends knew firsthand meant death if provoked further.

Later, at the end of the school day, Kaiser packs up and heads out of the third-year building. He flings open the door, only to get tackled by a familiar face. "Michael," JP calls out, his lilting French accent soothing Kaiser's nerves as his short arms embrace him. He continues talking, even as Michael sets him down. "So what will it be today? I've heard that the new _Samurai Eleven_ movie is really good. Or maybe we can check out that new cafe that just opened. I hear you can pet rabbits while you eat!"

Kaiser wants to make a snarky comment, but doesn't. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with your friends for that kind of stuff? I mean, you and Arion aren't fighting again, right?"

"No, we're friends again, thanks to you." Kaiser remembers that incident, clear as day. Things were awkward between them and Arion—not helped by the rest of the team learning about their relationship—but eventually, JP talked it out with him, and things turned back to normal. No, that's not quite right. Things stopped being normal the moment Kaiser fell in love with JP. "Michael? Are you alright? You looked kind of lost for a second there."

Snapped out of his thoughts, Kaiser nods aimlessly. "Oh, ja. Let's go practice a bit first. I need to clear my head after being stuck in that stuffy classroom all day."

They exit the school grounds and head over to the riverside, where a group of kids are playing on the pitch. Feeling motivated by the children's footwork, they go down to the patterned sidewalk, where they test their dribbling skills. After warming up individually, they practice dueling against each other, football style. Soon, they become enraptured in their two-man game, only stopping once they notice the sun beginning to set.

JP invites him over to his house, being the closer one. His home is small and modest, a perfect fit for him. His parents are also short like JP, with his father bearing an uncanny resemblance to his son, both in looks and personality. His mother, though more demure in comparison, becomes a cheerful bundle of joy whenever guests come around. "Any friend of JP's is a friend of ours," she said during their first time meeting. Though Kaiser feared his brusque nature would rub them the wrong way, they proved to be surprisingly tolerant—unless he just held back due to being in the presence of adults.

They gather around the table, where food is served in absurd amounts to accommodate for the Lapins' large appetites. Even with his own increased appetite, he finds himself wondering how they could fit so much into such tiny bodies. After finishing his first serving, he puts down his chopsticks and stares down at his growing gut. _That's it. I'm going on a diet, starting now—_

"I hope you've saved room for dessert," says Ms. Lapin. Kaiser almost lets out a swear under his breath; her desserts really are some of the best he's had.

"Uh, thanks, but I'm not all that hungry today, so…"

"Hey, you're a growing boy. You need all you can get!"

JP looks up at Kaiser with a frown, tugging at his uniform. "Mind if I talk to you alone?" He leads Kaiser out back, where he says bluntly, "Michael, have you been eating enough? You haven't been playing as well, and you look tired and stressed all the time. Are you worried about getting fat?"

That last word triggers Kaiser into looking away, hiding his embarrassment. In response, JP bursts out laughing. "What the hell are you laughing at? There's nothing funny about this!"

Wiping a tear away, JP calms down just enough to speak. "I'm sorry. I'm just relieved it's nothing more serious. You have to admit, it is a bit silly, though."

He crosses his arms in contempt. "Says you. You're not the one with asshole friends."

"Trust me, you're not the only one. Aitor makes fun of how small I am, and we make fun of the lame names he comes up with. We all have things we're not proud of, things that even our friends poke fun at us for. But I think a good friend knows what lines not to cross, and respect you if you're honest about how you feel." He hugs Kaiser, rubbing his face against his belly. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you look just fine." He pecks a kiss on the cheek and walks back to the door. "Allez! We'd better get back before Mum and Dad eat the whole thing."

Feeling more comfortable with himself, he gorges on Ms. Lapin's delicious chocolate cake. (It's a little embarrassing how much he ate, considering how little he had at dinner.) With bellies full of food, JP offers to escort him to his house. As they pass by the train station, they encounter an unusual sight. Waiting by the goddess statue is Eugene, bundled up in more stylish clothing than usual. Even odder, his pigtails are held up by dark-colored ribbons with a golden stripe running down the center. This minimalist pattern strikes Kaiser as familiar somehow.

Exiting the station is a tall, young boy with dark skin and red hair, lengthy bangs in deliberate disarray. The boy's slate gray coat blends in with the darkness, the gold trim and buttons shining under the street lights. The German boy recognizes him as a student from Lunar Sea Military Academy. He starts making the connection, immediately confirmed by their gestures: roses and a kiss, a laugh and a chat as if they've known each other for years, a bit of hand-holding. Even for him and JP, this is a bit much. "Ew, they're acting like a couple of newlyweds," a voice behind them echoes their thoughts, startling them.

Having a good look at the person who spoke, Kaiser is unsure whether to hit them or not. "Adé, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, just passing by." Pause. "Oh, fine! I was tailin' Eugene cus I wanted to know who he was seein'. And whaddaya know, I was right! Are you out datin', too? Geez, everyone I know's got somebody for the holidays!"

Adé lets out a laugh, but JP catches a glimmer of sadness in his tone. "Actually, we were just practicing together. Michael was telling me how much he wanted to hang out with you today." Kaiser flinches, not at all expecting this response, then looks down at the French rabbit, who winks in a "just play along" manner. "It's okay, Kai. You deserve this for putting up with me so long."

To this, Adé's face brightens up. "Sure you won't get jealous? I could steal 'im anytime I want." He wraps an arm around Kaiser and starts walking off with him in tow. As they head back to his place, Adé lowers his gaze, his cheery mood turned somber. "Hey, 'bout what I've been sayin' lately, I wanna apologize. It's just so much has changed this past year, and... I guess Eugene's right when he said I haven't wrapped my head around it. And this must sound silly to you, but I feel out of touch with you two. Like, I don't think I've changed one bit."

"What's wrong with that? I think it's great that you haven't changed. If anything, I'm worried that I changed too much. I think I've gone soft."

Hearing this, the Geordie jokes, "Yeah, in more ways than one." Kaiser responds with a light jab at his arm, barely hard enough to drive a point home. "Alright, maybe not that soft. But y'know, despite all that, you're still the Kaiser I knew from day one. Heck, you're more like the Kaiser I knew from day one than you were last year." This catches him by surprise. Had he really changed that much? "I guess JP's helped you show that better side of yourself. As your best friend, I can't help but feel a bit jealous."

Kaiser has to take a moment to absorb all this. He never knew Adé to be the jealous type, but with how close they were before then, it was perhaps inevitable. "You damn idiot! Why would I forget about you? Maybe I did neglect you a bit, but we're making up for lost time, right?" He smiles and holds his hand. "You're still my best friend, no matter what happens or who I'm with."

Adé returns the gesture, gripping his friend's small hand tightly for good measure, and together they walk onward, through the gently falling snow.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Long time, no see! After several months, I was struck with a lightning bolt of inspiration and started chugging away at this for the past day or two. Admittedly, I wasn't sure if I was ever going to return to this, but it looks like I did. As such, I'll leave the completion status of this up in the air until I feel for sure that it's complete.

Onto the story itself. I didn't intend for such a huge time jump, but I wanted to write a winter/Christmas story (partly to leave the "cultural festival" incident ambiguous, to retain the twist near the end), which, after reviewing part three, required me to skip over a year's worth of events. Will I ever cover that missing length of time? Most likely not, but we'll never know until it does happen.

Something that might catch some readers off-guard is Kaiser's, uh, change in body type. Stout!Kaiser was an idea I initially wanted to explore solely through art, particularly as I was preoccupied with writing _Dreams of Discord_ , which featured a vastly different interpretation of Kaiser, leaving no room for any major divergences. But at the time when I started writing this, I was struggling with DoD (yet again), and wanted to shift gears a bit and work on something a bit lighter and softer. So I turned to this fic and thought, "Huh, maybe I can put this idea to good use here." And that's how this chapter was made.

Call it self-indulgent, call me a horrible, disgusting person for daring to write about something you don't like, I don't give a crap. This is fanfiction, which means I can write whatever I want, by my own personal standards. With that said, even if just one person likes what I do, that's enough to motivate me into doing more.


End file.
